Four children, three adults found dead in ‘mass tragedy’ in Western Australia
A MOTHER and her four children are among seven people found dead in a “horrific” shooting at an idyllic rural property.
NEIGHBOURS have revealed hearing early morning gunshots after seven family members were found dead at a rural property south of Perth.
The bodies of two adults were found outside close to a shed that had been converted into a residence, while five were discovered inside. All the victims appeared to have gunshot wounds, said police.
Victims have been named as Katrina Miles, with her four children aged from eight to 13 years old. They have been named by as Take, 13, Rylan, 11, Arye, 10, and Kadyn, 8, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Katrina’s parents, Cynda and Peter Miles are listed as owners of the property and are also believed to have lived there.
MORE: Inside slain family’s idyllic retreat
The incident is the worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre of 1996 when 35 people died and 23 were seriously injured.
A “male person” connected to the property called police early on Friday morning. It is believed the triple-0 call was made by the killer, a man who is among the dead.
The force have since described what they found as a “horrific tragedy” and are treating it as a murder suicide.
Only a month ago, Ms Miles claimed on her Facebook page that: “My ex does not stop stalking me” according to The Australian.
News.com.au has seen a social media post from someone who knew the family which said: “Lovely people, but crazy ex-husband”.
In a Facebook post on her own page, Ms Miles described herself as the “parent of four beautiful children”.
It’s understood all four kids had autism and were homeschooled. Friends described her as a mother absolutely devoted to her children.
“I always admired her for her strength. The kids were kind, gentle, smart and beautiful children,” said one friend.
Cynda Miles had a craft business called Soft Salvage where she made decorative goods from recycled materials. Peter Miles was a farm maintenance worker.
He was seemingly well thought of in the community with a post on a farmer’s social media page praising his work. “Peter is THE man for any farm job”.
Police have yet to publicly identify the victims.
HOUSE A ‘PIECE OF PARADISE’
Cynda and Peter Miles bought the property on Osmington Road in late 2014 for $820,000 according to RP Data. Osmington is mostly rural, made up of vineyards and farmland properties.
At the time, the 30 acres plus two houses was described as a “piece of paradise” by the real estate agents and the “tree change you’ve been waiting for”.
“It’s not too big, not too small ... with a native bush boundary giving you privacy and protection from the elements. It truly is one of the best hobby farms in the Margaret River area.”
The property includes two residences, a main open plan house with a second smaller home.
When sold, the agents said the owners has “10 head of cattle, chooks, geese and a pig called George.”
POLICE: “DEVASTATING” DISCOVERY
Police told news.com.au on Friday evening that the process of formally identifying the deceased has progressed and homicide detectives and forensic offers are on the scene.
“There is no information to suggest any ongoing threat to the broader community.”
Western Australia Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said police received a call at 5.15am Friday from a “male person” connected to the property. When they arrived, they found seven bodies. Two firearms were discovered at the property
Mr Dawson described the discovery as “devastating”.
“This is going to have an enormous effect on young people in the community.”
The Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan tweeted about the incident, saying the events were “tragic and shocking”.
NEIGHBOURS REPORT GUNSHOT NOISES
Osmington local Meg Janes, 68, said it wasn’t unusual to hear gun shots as kangaroos were often culled.
“Something woke me up around 4am. I heard quite a few gunshots and I thought, ‘That’s a bit strange, that’s an odd hour to be shooting kangaroos’,” she told Perth Now.
“It wasn’t until I saw the police that I thought, ‘Hang on a minute’.
“(The shots) were separated out, there was quite a long gap between them. It wasn’t one after another.”
Neighbour Richard Dosser told the ABC he had spoken to someone who lived in the house who worked as a farm maintenance worker.
“I was talking to him on the phone last night, I was going to ask him to come over tomorrow,” he said. “He seemed very vague.”
The events in our South West are tragic and shocking. My thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims, and also with the first responders and investigators as they piece together this tragic set of circumstances.
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) May 11, 2018
The Shire President of Augusta-Margaret River, Pam Townsend said what had happened was surreal.
“It’s surreal that this is happening here in our beautiful little community.
“When we hear of violence like this, it is just shocking. We really need to talk about violence, don’t we, in our society.
Police Commissioner Dawson said the incident had taken its toll on first responders.
“This is an horrific tragedy for any person involved and, clearly, officers and other first responders attending these sort of scenes, they find it tragic. We will get on with our job but, regrettably, these tragedies do take their toll on everyone,” he said.
In a statement, Western Australian Police said officers were expected to remain at the home for “an extended period of time”.
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Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Anyone with information regarding this incident, or who saw or heard anything suspicious in the Osmington area this morning, is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000
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